Balenciaga's FW 2016 campaign features Achok Majak, a change from Demna Gvasalia's notorious tendency to stick with a cast of all-white models.

Fashion

7.29.2016

By Nicole Bae

Balenciaga Campaign Finally Incorporates Some Diversity

On the tail end of June, Balenciagareleased its first batch of photos promoting its Fall/Winter 2016 campaign. Recently, the rest of the shots, taken by Mark Borthwick and styled by Lotta Volkova, have been virtually floating down onto our timelines, newsfeeds, and explore pages.

A photo posted by Balenciaga (@balenciaga) on Jul 27, 2016 at 6:05am PDT

A bit out of the norm, the campaign was shot in the streets of Paris— think less “romantic and treelined pathways” and more “alleyways with cracked cement.” The star of show is Achok Majak, who has a strong presence, showcasing Balenciaga’s new youthful look. The campaign is a contrast to Balenciaga’s recent aesthetic; creative director/ Vetements founderDemna Gvasalia sent an all-white cast of models down the runway to showcase his Fall/Winter 2016 collection, both for the storied fashion house and his own label.

Back in May, when asked about the lack of non-white female models, Gsvalia told The Telegraph that he and his stylist, Lotta Volkova, “come[s] from this cultural background where [race] is not even as issue. We don’t even have to that thing to think we have to be politically correct.” He then goes on to say that “it was attitude of those girls that was important for me, not the shade of their skin or their origin.” Cue eyeroll. Kate Finnigan, fashion feature director at Telegraph, noted that this point in their coversation was “the only time in the interview where Gvasalia [appeared] ruffled.”

Gvsalia seems to have sort of learned his lesson. He incorporated a handful of models of color into Vetements’ Spring/Summer 2017 collection. It’s not a huge number, but, hey, that’s six more than his last Balenciaga show!

One of the latest released shots of Balenciaga’s FW 2016 campaign.

If anything, Balenciaga’s decision to have Majok in the campaign is only a small step in the right direction. The light peppering of models of color in campaigns and on the runway is not enough to help turn around the diversity problem in fashion. As someone at the head of a prominent fashion house, as well as, a youthful, influential design collective, Gvasalia has the ability to make great changes in the industry. So, do more, everybody. There’s no more time to waste.